Wordless @ Western Ghats

Sunset

2010 @ Krishnaleela

With the New year ahead just in a few days I was wondering what I was doing last year this time . With some back to back reading I figured out we were fully engrossed in exams and projects . This year with the " Progressive assessment program ' CBSE schools have only two exams . Mid term exam and final exam . And with that our schedules changed a lot since last year .

Ruby and Pearl just has to study the every day portions and then , they are free .

And here at Krishnaleela we used the year for self-identifying and realising . WE were subtle . But we were also active . Kids were given complete freedom to follow whatever interests them . They are slowly loosening my ties on them and spreading their wings . I am watching them with awe .

This year Ruby had only group projects which they discuss among the group and do themselves . Parents just have to help the kids collect whatever they want . I sort of miss doing projects with him . We make a great team . But I am amazed at the ideas and organising put up by the little ones. So , I didn't have much to post on the projects .

One other major step was Ruby started reading by himself . It had become a bit difficult for me to answer all his questions . But now I just have to see that library is well stocked . He uses his text books just as an index. He depends more on outside reading . And he carries all the relevant books to school to share with his friends .

Pearl has also started reading and every day she selects a book that I would read to her . And later she would read it on her own . Nobody asks her to . But she does this by herself. Now that she has this dance program coming up at school she is busy at school and home trying out the steps . If any of you plan to visit us, I warn you ! Please keep some time aside to watch her dance :D

This year the only major problem from the school was /is dictations . One of the teachers is conducting a dictation program every day /any day . In fact the students do it. Any of the student dictate 10 words every day and all those who score less than 8 marks has to get a signature from the parent . With the students searching for the toughest words Ruby comes home with a score ranging from 0-5.

We were following a good spelling curriculum at home . We concentrated only on the key words according to his standards with out much pressure on him . And he was doing extremely well .   But this dictation has spoiled every thing . Now we don't even speak about spelling other than for playing scrabble and flip words or to type on the internet . I don't know why the teacher wants to torture the child every day of the week. It could have been done once a week or twice .

Ruby has been exploring his artistic skills with great enthusiasm . Now he is identified by his classmates as the one with great colour sense . And I too feel , his colour combinations are excellent .

Me and Pearl have been through many trial and errors to bring her temper tantrums under control .  But it seems it would be wiser to leave her like she is .

I went through some major metamorphosis . I have some how managed to get a hold on my short temper which I did not think would be possible in this life . And I have finally found out something called 'patience' really exists. Now I can actually see people even when I am in a high temper and think beyond the moment which really is an achievement . And I realised life is not a one day match . It will not provide answers overnight .

The only thing man is entitled to do is " Celebrate every day of life and don't miss even the small moment of happiness life brings " .

Between me and hubby and the ten years left behind we discovered that we will stick together through thick and thin . With every year we walk together the beauty of couple-hood is growing . May the years ahead bring more beautiful moments .

And with all these 2010 is slowly fading away and I plan to make this my sticky post until the New year and spend the holidays with lot of cuddles and snuggles in our own little world , unless I stumble upon something really interesting to share with you .

A very very Happy Christmas and Happy new year to YOU !

[caption id="attachment_2769" align="aligncenter" width="410" caption="image courtesy - Google search"][/caption]

Farm and food

[caption id="attachment_2743" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="fruit"][/caption]

Plantain laden with fruit waiting for its owner .The sight that welcomed me when I went to my old house last week. We shifted from there seven months back.

I don't miss the house , I don't miss the land , I don't miss my neighbours , I don't miss the calm and quiet.

I miss my plants .

I miss the sparrow family that lived in our bed room sun shade . They also go to bed along with us . We hear them chirping even in the night .

The bulbuls that lived in the mango tree in the front yard . The sun birds and wag tails and the butterflies that frolicked my garden . The parrots , yellow mag pies and  mynahs that came in and out of the tree holes as they liked . The quail couple , spotted cuckoo and the group of crow pheasants ( uppan ) that visited the back yard. The Mangoose family .

The jasmines and tube roses in the front that I planted especially to fill the threshold with their sweet fragrance in the evenings .

Mandaram , Shoe flowers , Rajamalli , Kongini poo , Nandiarvattom, Golden trumpet flowers .... I miss them all.

Now , coming back to the Thursday challenge ,

[caption id="attachment_2744" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Food"][/caption]

'Paneer Pasanda' as we called it . When we tried to make it at home after our scrumptious meal at 'Oottupura ' , Vytilla.

Thursday Challenge this week  "FOOD" (Farmers Market, Vegetables, Meat, Cooking, Restaurant,...) Next Week: TOYS (Dolls, Games, Stuffed Animals, Athletic Equipment, Construction Toys, Art Supplies,...)

Where nature is the teacher

 



 



 

Wordless Weekends

This is my weekend corner . The place where I wait  every weekend - Saturday and Sunday while Ruby and Pearl take their key board and music  classes respectively .

To my left in level with the balcony is a mango tree which is always bustling with chirping sparrows , sun birds ( adakka kuruvi ), bulbuls,  mag pies, and wag tails .

In front of the balcony are two banyan trees which are frolicked by flocks of parrots and magpies . And when they bear fruits the number is just increased by double . It is almost one year now since I started to watch them .

I enjoy the silence here . I use the time to catch up with my Sis and Bro , to pester my friends with phone calls and messages , to read books , to plan my week ahead and to make silly notes like these .

Pearl comes in between during the break to check on me . Most of the parents ( ie. real people who are concerned about their child's education )prefer to sit inside the classroom in a corner, like prisoners to see if their wards are learning the lessons properly or more possibly to check if the teacher is taking thee classes properly . And love it that I get this place to myself I don't care to enlighten them :P

[caption id="attachment_2716" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="image courtesy - google search"][/caption]

Right now a green bird just flew away from my side :D ( from google I found out its name is 'blue winged leaf bird' , but in my mother tongue we call it 'pachapanamthatha' the sweetest of birds ). And a sparrow is chirping sweetly from the branches of the mango tree  :)

I am not risking a snap of the birds as they keep on hoping from branches to branches . I am afraid I may lose my guard and end up on the ground trying to chase them . Now only my pen fell down through the rails .

Right down is a soda filling station and two small girls are enjoying some bottles they sneaked out from there . They are staring upwards to see who threw the pen at them .



Oooh!! Finally I got a sparrow in focus . But , I have got company here . A boy has come to the terrace of the adjacent building with a funky looking mobile in his hand . By the looks of it he has come to check who this mad woman is , busily taking down notes and clicking photos of their house .

He is clad completely in black and I wonder if he is Mafia king or just another Swami . He is trying hard not to give out that he is looking what I am doing .      Ah !!!May be they don't have a license for the soda unit or are doing some other dark business there . I wonder if they would set some body to 'sketch' me :P

By this time Pearl is back from her classes and I move on . My only worry is that classes are only for one hour :)

Legos Helipad

"Thursday Challenge : CONSTRUCTION" (Houses, Streets, Commercial, Equipment, Vehicles,...)

Next Week: FOOD (Farmers Market, Vegetables, Meat, Cooking, Restaurant,...)"

Spiderman Duo

The Butterfly flap Book

Pearl wanted to make a huge butterfly and write a story on its wings . After so many discussions we decided to make a flap book . And after trial and errors and patch up works to cover the mistakes done we ended up doing something like this .

Pearl is now seriously into reading. I had done enough and more spelling and reading lessons with Ruby eons ago that even now I cringe when I see a spelling book or think of giving a reading lesson. So I haven't done anything with Pearl unless asked for . But she is exploring herself and with great enthusiasm .



Recently we are into this reading game where one has to stop and give up the turn to the next person when they make a mistake . Pearl is all set that she wouldn't allow any body in the house to read . If she can't read a word she keeps on repeating it until her turn comes. Ruby sits aside and keep looking on us as though we are mad people . As much as he likes to read nobody can drag him into a reading game :D

Minnie and Daisy

Thursday Challenge BROWN" (Animals, Soil, Coffee Beans, Trustees, Furniture,..)Next Week: CONSTRUCTION (Houses, Streets, Commercial, Equipment, Vehicles,...)

These two cuties are Pearl's pets . Minnie and Daisy as she calls them ( after girl friends of Mickey and Donald) .

She brought it from her Aunt's house when they were just few weeks old .

Once she even took it her school in a carton to show it to her teacher and friends . And guess what , Most of the kids hadn't seen a rabbit in their whole life !!!

The snaps were taken by Ruby .

As for the 'Thursday challenge' , I was under the impression this week's theme was rain and clouds . So logged in to post a snap of summer rain from my archive . But ah ! I was so wrong . Any way it has happened so may times before . So if you really want to see any 'brown' please look at the earth beside the rabbits :P

Our reading Swing

The big difference b/n praise and confidence

For three -four years now I have been constantly praising Ruby for whatever he does . And to make it equal Pearl also recieved a good share of it . It helped to boost their confidence . Made them happy kids . . But everything has a downside.



Recently , I started to observe that both of them look up to me for my praises and approval even for silly things . When asked a question Ruby especially would try to answer it in a way that would please me .

All his written work will have some thing starting ' my mom says ' . Of course the indulgent Mom is happy about it . But the rational me is not . I want them to grow up as adults who believe in themselves and not in their parent's judgments .I don't want them to wag their tail every time they get a praise or a pat . I want them to be able to judge themselves in spite of others praises or criticisms .

I have been thinking about this for quite some time but didn't know how to tackle it with out letting my kids feel that I don't care for them any more . Then I came upon this article by Raising happy kids .

Now when they look at me with expectation I ask them what THEY think about it . Or how do they feel . At first it was a difficult for them to answer . ( I realized when they finish a task they are looking forward only for my approval and they are not thinking for themselves . If I say it is good or even smile they are contend !!)

But now they have started to think . And slowly they would learn to listen to themselves . More important to follow their dreams and not their parents' . I think that is the best lesson I can give them for their future.

Bakula

After reading the whole book " Gently falls the Bakula ' by Sudha Murthi , I found from google that Bakula  refers to ' Ilanji'  flowers .

Yesterday Me and sister have been thinking hard which flower it could be .

Ilanji is the tree under which me and Hubby used to spend so many happy hours as engaged couple . I have even posted about it here!

Now that I have read this book it feels so eerie !!

Childhood Friend

This post is dedicated to my Childhood friend ,who was also my neighbor .

As children we had a great time . We  played and played and played . Ours was a small gang which had kids from all ages . On Saturdays our house acted as the base as both my parents were working and we had the house to ourselves. And every Saturday there would be some mischief for the elders to scorn . Once we took Mom's dinner set to  play kitchen and ended up breaking all of them . Even now I can feel the trembling of my legs when father came home . That is to name one.

Teens brought  new dimensions to our friendship. Unknowingly we got separated from the rest of the gang and liked to spend happy hours in our own little world. We studied and gossiped . Listened to all the beautiful songs of our time . We passed secrets which were sweet and naive when I see from here . Flirted as much as we could under the scrutinising eyes of our parents and siblings . Made devious plans against the boys who dared to tease us. Dreamed together . Walked in the moonlight hand in hand wondering what future would bring us .

Childhood friends always know you inside out . They see you before you learn to polish yourself to present before the world. So whenever we meet now, however far apart that may be we never miss a beat .

This is for you my dear friend . For the endless whispers and giggles and life we shared !

[caption id="attachment_2555" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Image courtesy - Google search"][/caption]

An extract from Ruby's answer sheet !

Q. For certain reason you had to walk upside down on a particular day . Write a paragraph on how you spent that day . (120-150 words ) (7 marks )



This year he has a very generous teacher . What makes me happy is he has started to write down his thoughts . And that is a great step to us.

Missing my letters

Hubby mentions he would rather I write letters to him than to the whole world .

I was trying to clear a point to him which I always seem to do since we got married when he suddenly tells me why can't I write a letter about it  , that way he would get the correct picture .  When I think about it there is something in what he says .



For the last one and half years I had been busy with blogging that I haven't written any letter to him except the posts here in 'Heartbeats' .

You may think it weird to write to your hubby who lives with you almost 24 hours a day . He works from home . But that is our way . He would find letters in his cup board , break fast table , or the least an sms on his mobile . Once he threatened me if I write any more letters he would show it to my parents  :D

Like it happens to so many people the love letters I wrote him after we got engaged brought to light my passion for writing . He was the one who identified I have a way with writing and that I should work on it .

I owe him every word on this blog . If you look at it from a wider angle it is a letter . A big letter which unfolds my life .

Once in these days when I landed on the earth from the world of blogging I found that my house and home needs me more . So I decided to take a break for a while and to spend even more time with my kids and their father .

I always thought I would be bored to death if I unhooked myself from the world of internet . All my acquaintances are  in the virtual world . Or they are the only ones I have . But to my great surprise I wasn't bored even for a second . Each of my family had some thing to share with me.

We did a lot of snuggling , reading , cooking , craft work , watched movies and TV shows , frequented the park....

And even though it would be treated as a crime by Indiblogger rating I am enjoying it :D

Ice cream

Yesterday Pearl wanted to buy me an ice cream and was
leading me from one spot to another saying the ice cream shop is just round the
corner . Once we reached there and bought all her favourites she wanted me to
run back home all the way so that the ice creams wouldn't melt . I have just
one doubt . Whose b'day were we celebrating ? Mine or her ????

Sleeping Mobile

Pearl wants to know why I am charging my mobile in the night and not letting it get enough rest and sleep !

Thursday - Life Challenge

I decided to hop into this thursday challenge only because of the theme this week . MESSY ! Ah !

My greatest Resolutions!Yes!! . I Don't think it could be more messier than this !

Sister of my heart

I had gone to the library with so much enthusiasm to get 'Palace of illusions' by Chitra Banerjee . Review of the book by Pal really knocked me off. But I could find only 'Sister of my heart '. We were to go for a two day function and I was in one of my melancholic self when I miss my sister and brother the most. Anything to keep my mind engaged was welcome .

I like Bengali literature mainly because of its similarity to Kerala culture .

Sister of my heart is the story of two girls - cousins  ( Sudha and Anju ) . I think it is story of Sudha more than that of Anju . Even though it is interspersed with fairly tales the emotions are so real and catching.

Situations where you don't know what to do. Instances where you decide to sacrifice yourself for loved ones and come up with nothing . Moments which reveal you can never walk back your life and you cannot relive it .

I really got into the novel. I think it will take a few days to shake it off from me .

The suspense in the novel is a bit shallow. Any body can guess it .

And Sunil carrying the handkerchief all the way to America is a bit too dramatic. If he is a crook he would not find it important and if he realises the infatuation he will not let himself carried away . From what I felt his character is vague . May be I am not getting a full picture.

The character I like most is Pishi . I despise people who want a woman or a man to spend their life alone and in doom because some thing terrible happened in their life . I think it is upto individual decision . We don't have any right to say other people should spend their life in darkness with out any one to hold on to.

And I just can't understand how a woman cannot recognise her husband whom she married out of love . I am not giving the plot away . But I can't help wondering .

A Priceless praise .

Last week I met Ruby's science teacher and she told me he is one of the most gifted artists in her class. She specifically talked about the splendid ideas in his paintings . I could see him beaming and cannot thank her enough for her kind words.
Besides all the compliments from the family Ruby always thought of himself as a poor artist . Add to it off hand comments from class mates and problems with fine motor skills. Now that he has overcome it his ideas are taking beautiful shapes . And my heart fills with joy to see his paintings.

He is making a wide variety of things with the play dough as though there is magic in his hands and it has become almost impossible to beat him in  jig-saw puzzles.

Last year I was worried what his skills were and how I should support him. I was lost . Then I decided to give him time . To let him free so that his interests would surface on its own .

Now when I ask him his opinion about painting classes he confidently tells me he wants to follow his drawing master in school for a while .

Why Phonics ?

Pearl is convinced that we are all reading English incorrectly.She cannot understand why we are saying 'fone ' for 'pone' and 'filips' for 'pilips'.She even says her phonics book should be read as ' ponic book ' and not otherwise . She is happy that she has finally discovered it and saved the mankind from wrong pronunciation.

So today we are reading a lot of 'ph' words and stories and Ruby is playing 'Garfield's spelling and vocabulary' CD with her.

Ever since I learned Ruby has this problem I have been raking my brain to remember how I learned reading . I have a few images of my parents and Aunts reading to me from books . Then it is me reading alone . I don't even remember reading to my sis or bro.

From what I understood while talking to my friend who is teaching KG, only the individual sounds and initial word families are introduced in detail to the kids . From there most of the kids or all most all of them take it themselves naturally. The spelling differences and exceptions and all will be learned unknowingly in due course. Parents can facilitate this by reading to the child and encouraging them to read themselves .

But this does not happen for a dyslexic child . He always depends on the sounds for the spelling . So we have to make them familiar with all word families and exceptions . There are so many rules for the exceptions as well.

In short , teaching phonics will help a normal and gifted child to learn to read more easily and quickly while it will help a dyslexic child to overcome his difficulty at an earlier age .

Now that Pearl is also hitting the reading age I have been thinking whether I should teach her phonics or not . Reading and writing is something she is very interested in . But none of us learned phonics to start reading .Then my friend Urmi also came up with the same question. Here in this post I am just thinking out loud . If any of you can throw some more light on the topic you are welcome.

While preparing kids for exams

• Do not scold the child.


• Maintain a calm environment .


• Do not try to teach . It has to be done earlier . You will only confuse the kid. Just revise.


• Give lots of veggies and fruits to eat .


• Enough water and juice to keep the brain hydrated .


• Enough sleep .


• A small nap or a brisk walk to recharge . Break every 45 minutes.


• Double check the pencil box, instrument box and other things needed.


• Maintain a short list of frequently mistaken questions and words for quick review in the morning .

The photographer

[caption id="attachment_2395" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Mysore Palace ( March 2010 )"][/caption]

Ever since I have known, Ruby has been intersted in taking photos rather than posing for them

I have never tried to explain to him how any gadget works or which are the buttons that are to be used . But he knows them all as though he has got the manual inside his head . Be it a mobile or a camera he is most relaxed while using it .

He never thinks a lot about the lighting or the posing . He is a natural . So when I want to take a scenery I just give him my camera and ask him to take a snap for me .

He has yet to explore this taste and talent . It was keeping that in my mind I posted him the official photographer of my blog . I dont know where this will take us . But I like to dive into the unknown and see what comes up.

[caption id="attachment_2394" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Athirapally Water falls . Snap taken by Ruby ( Sep 2010)"][/caption]

The Chef Pearl

It was Pearl's food week . They have been learning about different occupations . And she had to dress like a chef.

We hunted for a kid's apron for two days and then decided to cut short an adult's apron and to make a shower cap out of it even though what she wanted was butler's cap. She went to school with bread slices, butter, onion and spoons and plates to make sandwiches .

I was too busy to take any snaps . So declared Ruby as the official photographer of my blog which immediately put him in action .

Snaps were taken in no time .

And for two three days , they bustled around in the kitchen like bees in bee hives.

They made sandwiches with tomato, onion , cucumber and god knows what .

And we made some paneer stir fry . Pearl helped me to chop the coriander leaves. And as the refrigerator is kept in the other room she was my errand girl. Snaps were taken by our newly appointed photographer .



Instant paneer stir fry

Saute 1 tsp ginger garlic paste,Add 1 chopped onion,Add 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, pepper, and garam masala.

Add 1 tsp tomato sauce,saute for some time . Add salt to taste. Add the paneer cubes . Add 1 tsp butter ,saute for 2-3 minutes .

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves . Serve hot.

And here are my Paneer Pals .

Pallavi's Palak Paneer

Urmi's Paneer Tikka

I am convinced !

Last week we had gone for a trip to Athirapally waterfalls . Like all our trips and almost everything in our life it was an impulsive decision . Five minutes we were thinking what we should do on the holiday ,  and in half an hour we were on our way to Athirapally along with our friends.

We came back the next day refreshed by the unexpected break and plunged into the daily routines . I did some serious  reorganising in the house to mark the start of second term .

The problem is hubby's new spectacles are missing . With special lenses and all it had cost him a fortune . We searched everywhere . Under the cabins , inside the bags , inside the car , called every body who had come across , and checked every where hubby had gone these two three days .

Our only clue was the photo taken on our way back . In the snap Hubby has got his glasses .

That cuts off the beautiful villa where we had stayed and the cascade where we had spent our day .



Retracing our trip, I thought of the restaurant where we had stopped in between . As he uses the glasses mostly to drive there are chances he may just keep it somewhere when not driving.So I googled the net to find out the restaurant's phone no. Hubby called up and talked to the cashier . Something he wouldn't have done if it wasn't his precious glasses .

To our great joy they had a pair of glasses which matched our description . So yesterday night itself we went to check it out . But to our dismay it was not the one we were looking for .Back home I searched the house more vigilantly but couldn't find the glasses . I asked hubby about the box where I usually keep his glasses . It was also missing .

In a jiffy he was back with the glasses .

He found them from under the desk top monitor. Safely tucked in by me, so that he can easily get hold of them when using the computer .I could have just looked under the monitor while googling for the phone number of Aryas and saved the day .

I am convinced that the transformation is finally complete !  I am an internet freak and less human !

Giftedness and LD

Until recently I thought both Giftedness and LD are one and the same .

How foolish, isn't it ?

While we did the assessment for Ruby last year , the special educator had just briefed me on his IQ level . His mental IQ level is 140 which would have put him in the gifted range . But his expression IQ ie . Reading and writing skills are far below . Just around 90. But they highlighted mainly the learning disability .

Even then , taking the average he falls in the bright normal range (119 ) which is also above the average population .

Wechsler's classification

Classification	IQ Limits	Percent Included
Very Superior	128 and over	2.2
Superior	120-127	6.7
Bright Normal	111-119	16.1
Average	91-110	50
Dull Normal	80-90	16.1
Borderline	66-79	6.7
Defective	65 and below	2.2

When I went to the resource at school also , the teacher wanted to list him among the gifted kids . They did not say anything about the disability. So some how I got this misconception that they are both the same . I thought they were just synonyms for being 2E ( twice exceptional).

I didn't know there are kids who have a gifted complex brain just like that of a dyslexic and at the same time don't have any of the problems.

( I never cared about IQ tests as a student because I never scored good or even average .  Now I realise it is because of dyscalculia . )

Then during one of our virtual conversations, I happened to send my son's IQ results to my  Blogger friend and homeschooler Priya .

Having an IQ of 140 puts him above 99.5 % of the population . The imbalance in the expression skills and other salient symptoms of dyslexia along with the giftedness is what created all the confusions and frustrations during his childhood.

This has lead me to an entire new area . Earlier I concentrated more on the disability part . Now only I started looking out for the signs of giftedness in my son . And they are all there .

" The giftedness mask the disability and the disability masks the giftedness . "

Because of this Dyslexic kids always get categorised in the mediocre group . Whenever I ask his teachers they say he is okay . Because they have kids who are far expressive and capable than him and because there are more kids who are worse than him and whose parents doesn't give a damn .

Priya's revelation was something new to me .  Now that I am preparing him for the exams I am relaxed . I know he can handle it and much more .  And he will do well.

Lord of the rings - Return of the King .

My 12th book in the 20 books challenge - Lord of the rings ( Return of the King ).

With this I finished the Lord of the Ring series and feel so relieved that at last the ring has been cast away . May be I would read it once more so that I can enjoy in detail the beauty of the path they followed . Till now I was also in a hurry to march with Sam and Frodo to the Land of Mordor ,  to get rid of the ring somehow .

What I liked most in the book is the Tree Ents . Their potion would be so refreshing and cool . I wonder ! I wish I could also sit and relax in the midst of a beautiful , calm , green forest and take a sip !

There are so many valiant heroes .  Aragorn and Faramir are my favourites . And Eowyn !!

Legolas , Lady Galadriel , Gimli ... Ah!!

Daughter

That sweet smile, cuddles and snuggles are enough to forget all the tantrums she make .

At the age of six she decides and chooses her attire and accessories .

I can only feel sorry for her father who has fallen head over heels in love with her.

She will soon learn how to make him dance to her tunes .

And then I will sit , relax and enjoy the show :-D

A tribute to Venu Nagavalli

A tribute to the great actor , director and writer Venu Nagavalli  who etched an image of the melancholic hero of 70 s with his unique style and ways .



The Lover in Yavanika , The true friend in chillu , The  loving brother and silent lover in Salini ente koottu kaari ..All are sweet characters even though melancholic.

Only recently I found out he is the director and script writer of some of my all time favourite movies . Even without knowing any of it he was in my favourite actors' list .

He has directed some of the best mal movies ever.

• Agni Devan (1995)


• Aayirappara (1993)


• Kalippattam (1993)


• Kizhakkunarum Pakshi (1991) (as Venu Nagavally)


• Aye Auto (1990)


• Lal Salam (1990)


• Ayitham (1987)


• Sarvakalasala (1987)


• Sukhamodevi (1986)

And wrote scripts for some more

• Vishnu (1994) (screenplay and dialogue)


• Aayirappara (1993) (writer)


• Kalippattam (1993) (writer)


• Kilukkam (1991) (writer)


• Kizhakkunarum Pakshi (1991) (screenplay and dialogue)


• Aye Auto (1990) (writer)


• Ardham (1989) (writer)


• Sarvakalasala (1987) (screenplay and dialogue)


• Sukhamodevi (1986) (writer)

I see a graph of my childhood in these movies . I cannot separate them from my memories as a child . Sarvakalasala, sukkhamo devi , aye auto , kizhakkunarum pakshi ......The stories are all so sweet and comedy packed and at the same time heartening and lovely and leaves a lump in your throat .

A legend has passed by . Now that the great persons who made movies and songs for us are passing away in the blink of an eye , I realise why our parents cannot enjoy the new movies and songs . They just don't belong here . Their favourite actors , writers and singers have all gone beyond the curtain . I realise the loss . Nothing and nobody can replace them.

Reading at Krishnaleela

As a mother to a dyslexic child one of the most frequent problem I faced was my son's difficulty in reading .

But somewhere in between he developed a passion for reading . It would be easier to say his quest for knowledge eventually took better off his difficulty to read . One fine day we realised that he has become a voracious reader  . Now when I look back I cannot point out exactly when the transition occured .  But I can tell you it happened after I stopped dragging him to read something and after I stopped correcting and checking on him .

Since then we find every silly reason to buy books . We buy books for our weekend shopping , holidays , birthdays , trips.. in short  for almost anything . In addition to this, we officially add on books to our library once or twice a month .

I have a network of old book shops in the town from where kids select their books. And some other trendy book shops like Paico , H&C , Reliance , DC books . The categories include their current interests . It could be a movie , cartoon , science , fiction , stories I tell them , their class topics , skits or anything .

A couple of  years back, before I knew anything about dyslexia once Siva had to sing a prayer for a function . So that he would not forget the verses I wrote it down for him . Actually he knew the poem by heart . But was not able to read it out and made a mess . When I think about it now , my heart goes out for him .

From there we have come a long way . As hyperactive kids it is very difficult to manage them when we go out . When I go for shopping or for some thing important they carry their favourite books along with them .

My heart swelled with pride when I saw him reading the Flag salutation at a ceremony without any mistake . It was his first attempt at reading in Public. And that it was to salute the national flag just doubled my joy . When they asked him to read it I didn't want to put him in pressure once more . But he took it as a challenge and proved himself . I am so proud of him.

Now wherever we go every body asks me about Siva's reading habit . Earlier I used to stop and explain to them in detail about the difficulty he has and how we are trying to overcome it or how he has improved . I needed assurance that he is doing well or that he would improve . But now I accept it with a smile . I learned from my experience that the most important thing to do is to believe in your child . Give them the freedom to do what they like to do . Follow them instead of making them follow you . Then they will excel.

He claims himself as a silent reader . Even now it is difficult for him to read names and unseen words  . If you ask him to read aloud you will hear a lot of jargon . But then , he understands the content superbly and that is what matters .

Yes, I know ..... and miles to go before we sleep.

Saying good bye to my Granma..

I was too tired to fight with my Mom when she invited me to visit her house . It was easier to give in.

It has been over 9 years . I had been in the third term of my pregnancy when my Granma passed away . If I wanted , I could have gone then to see her for the last time . But I didn't. More than the complications that may arise I wasn't ready to accept the loss. I thought she will live forever in my mind if I didn't see her lifeless face . I didn't do any rituals for the fear of losing her .

More than just the first baby grand daughter, I was born as a relief to her untimely widowhood. I have heard my Aunts saying that she started to laugh again  only after my birth . She was so dear to three of us ( my brother and sister ) .

Even after her death I didn't want to lose her love . So I made an imaginary box and kept her safe in my mind . Never said Good bye . I saw her in my dreams . Very much alive. Only that her hands were ice cold to touch .

They were not nightmares. A grand mother talking to her grand daughter . But seeing dead people in dreams is considered ominous .

I asked my Mom about the rituals that has to be done even though I could not quiet understand how people will be relieved from bondage just by chanting Mantras . There should be more to it.

So Yesterday when my Mom asked me to go with her I braced up. May be because of the tiredness that follows three- four days of continuous journey I was in a susceptible mood. Shallow and bare .

In the house the old rooms had been altered .  But I could see through it just as in olden days. I sat on my Granma's bed where three of us had cuddled together as kids listening to her stories and the lightening and thunder . I could feel her beside me . I sat on the parapet where she has mouth fed us umpteen times in the evenings while we played .

And I broke down . I cried for her. Something I didn't dare to do before . I realised that the lovely woman who had been there would never come back . She would never again answer our calls. She would never come hurrying to welcome us . There wouldn't be any bear hugs and farewell kisses . She has disappeared . Just like that .

The hot tears that streamed down my cheeks cooled my heart . It was easy to hide them in the darkness .

On our way back home I could feel the calmness in my heart .  It dawned on me that eventually I have bid good bye to her in my own way. And in some way to the young girl who had spend her holidays there . I realised the rituals are not for the ones who have left . They are very much for the ones left behind. To say goodbye to the dear ones who have gone , to accept and acknowledge the loss and to move on with life .

My childhood and teens have passed away and they have made me what I am now. I can't preserve them forever .  I can't carry them any more. After years of effort I have relented and let them pass through me . And I feel light as a feather . Ready to take in the world .

Those few extra pounds !!

The only thing I did was to add an extra iddli to my breakfast and half a spoon more rice to my lunch . Now after a few months I am horrified to see I have gained more than 5 kilos .

I just wanted a bit more chubbiness when I started to wear more sarees. I listened a lot to old people I should say . And here I am . All my outfits have been discarded .( no, I am not going into the never ending list of problems .... )

But like anything else I won't give up . I have started some serious work outs . On the go , I have been able to inspire a few others.  This post is for them .

Disclaimer : This workout has been developed after consulting with my therapist . Please consult your doctor or physical therapist before following them .

1 ) improving the core muscle strength .

Keigell's exercise

Pelvic tilting

Bridging

Pelvic rocking

Cat and camel exercises

2. Self stretching

Psoas major

Hamstrings

Spelling and schooling woes

Lately I have not been posting a lot on learning. Basically , we were sizing up the standards for the fourth grade and UKG.

This year their curriculum has changed and they would be having only two term exams . But that means they have assessment tests almost every other day . And lots and lots of projects to do at home and at school.

In his hurry to finish the assignments which he is doing well , Siva cannot put much time on his spelling lessons . And every time I see his book I start worrying . I never miss any chance to speak to any well informed person I come across .

A few weeks before I met an English teacher who is now taking classes for tenth standard . She assured me it will take some more time for some students . We have to give the correct support and guidance . That is all . And give them time . Some students are able to overcome it by 5th or 6th grade while for some students it will take two or three years more say, 8th grade .  I think Siva falls in the latter category . Talking to the teacher gave me the confidence to believe in him . He will come through it . I am sure .

Now we are almost back on track with our spelling lessons and other activities .I am ready to progress to some paragraph writing .I got some inspiring pieces from my friend Priya, A Home schooling Mom .Here is it :

aswathy

i am just talking about very basic stuff. last year i started paragraph for ds, god it was too hard for him.

so i went through most requirements and books and came up with my own plan.

I went to preschool level and concentrated on drawing with lots of details in them.
it was not hard.

Prek stuff
then i would ask him to write a couple of sentence about his drawing. simple sentence nothing fancy

for example

The bear sat and ate his honey

then i taught him grammar, and to separate his sentence into words.

for example bear is a noun now add a adjective like big, brown, happy, hungry
then sat...where add a noun like under a tree, behind a rock, up the hill, inside his cave
then add when word like early in the morning, on a hot sunny day
then ate is a verb add a adverb like quickly, happily, greedy
honey is a noun add adjective like golden, yummy

so now the sentence will look something is this

one hot sunny day the big brown bear, sat under the tree and quickly ate his golden honey from his pot.

now the final sentence paints a picture in the readers mind.

I think I can start from this level for both Siva and Swetha .

This year Siva has shown tremendous changes in his social developing skills even though at first he was a bit worried about the shuffling . Now I can see him bubbling when he tells about his class and activities . He has been the class  leader for last month , leader for some other groups and the class librarian  . I think the Leo is eventually coming to the front .

I am that mom !

Got all inspired by Tiff's post which was inspired from  Ronnie's blog carnival .

Here is mine !

I am that Mom who simply loves to sing and dance with her kids

I am that Mom who loves to watch movies with them

I am that Mom who loves to hang out with them. Just the kids way .

I am that Mom who loves to enjoy her childhood once again along with her kids.

I am that Mom who loves to linger at the Toy shop along with the kids thinking how to spend the pocket money.

I am that Mom who stands with her kids no matter whatever trouble they are in.

I am that Mom who will see through it silently when her kids behave in the most unexpected way and every body else expect her to do something

I am that Mom who loves to hug and kiss her kids and get the word across rather than giving long long lectures .



Note : When I changed my parenting style a couple of years before it received a lot of questioning eyes . It was a tough decision to believe in my kids and ignore the usual norms . It was an effort to let the mother in me go to the back and to let the child in me be free .

The responsibility of my motherhood had become a menace to me , my kids and their father .Then one fine day I decided to change myself . To stop and see the beauty and happiness this world can give us . To enjoy every moment of my life along with my family . And here we are ! Instead of following the usual rules and regulations we set our rules . And I never had to look back again !

The Birthday boy !!

This year we decided to celebrate Ruby's birthday differently . As a rule we celebrate two birthdays .

As Pearl puts it one is the cake Birthday following the English month when they take sweets to the school and all , cut cakes Western style . The other is the Payasam Birthday when we go to temple . Make traditional foods . This is the  birthday more or less their Grand parents celebrate .

This year  instead of partying with his friends we went to Oberon mall . One of their favourite hang outs ... Now a days kids wanna celebrate their Birthdays the funky way !

And we had a great time there . Video games and sorts aren't my things . May be because I don't score good . It is their father who gives them company . And yesterday it was so crowded I didn't even care to take a snap.

What attracts me to Oberon Mall  is the Reliance's book shop they have there . I think I have become a maniac. The only thing I wanted to buy was the Amarchithra Katha series ! ( But when I see Ruby reading it all through the night it fills my heart with joy )



And we tried food from almost every counter in the food court . Any way a Pizza is enough to knock out Ruby !

It is very easy to please Ruby. But it is not the case with Pearl . Every day she prepares for her birthday like it is the next day .

Ruby got a pair of roller skates as his present . Of course Pearl also gets one . We don't dare to come home without a present for Swetha .

In the morning they are busy counting and recounting and distributing the sweets !

Pearl wants some extra chocolates for her friends becoz she couldn't give them enough on her birthday last year as she had to give some to Ruby then !!!!!

I want to video tape all of it as I know Childhood is just slipping by .

With Ruby's Birthday I celebrate my Motherhood and with Pearl's birthday I celebrate my childhood and teens !

 

New soil , new sun .....

Well, I am no good with changes . It is very difficult for me to adjust with them .

After we changed our house last time , it took me almost three years to call it, home without thinking twice .

Here I am now, trying to replant myself to the new settings ..

It was with great effort that I learned to love the solitude that surrounded me .

I followed almost everything that interested me . Gardening, reading , photography , internet , and  a lot of other things so that I wouldn't be having even a single moment to sit down and think that I don't have anything to do .

But now the scenario has changed a bit . I don't get much time to myself .

I think it is time to set a new set of resolutions . It is time to digg out my old cam and see around . And time to start some physical .

This is just a pilot post . Something to confront the writer's block . To figure out what is it that is keeping me away from my blog . The place I love just like my home .

Exercise and Back Pain

Exercise and Back Pain.

The Love story .

The last month I didn't have access to net and my world revolved around books . I was reading like I had gone mad .

In a book reading community I had seen a forum " the most touching death of characters " ! There so many people have posted " Love story by Erich Sehgal"

( In my case the death that really caught me is that of ' Bonny in Gone with the wind ' . Some times I wonder why Margarett Mitchell ever created that character . )

Coming back to the twenty books challenge , I searched for this book  when I went to the library. It was there all worn out and with only a handful of pages . I will finish it in a jiffy . That was the first thing that came to my mind .  I wondered how such a small book can influence these many people . How catching the story would be .

I saw that the book was written in 1975 . hmm... so much time has lapsed . Would it stand the sands of time ?

Usually I dont like to start reading with a prejudiced mind . But in this case I already know the main character will die . So I didn't have much hope .

But to my surprise the first sentence of the novel said ' what would you say about a girl who died at the age of 23' . So now on even ground I braced up for the story .

As I expected I finished it in a jiffy . And I was left with a feeling of Dejavu ! I couldn't exactly figure out the reason.

It took about half an hour for it to dawn on me . An old time hit movie , A trend setter , A heart breaking love story of yester years was inspired from this story .

The songs are all superhit and the caste was superb . Yes , ' Madanolsavam' ( ' The festival of love ' ) with Kamal Hasan and Zareena Wahab in the leading roles .





This movie is more special , bcoz it was the first movie for which my parents went together and whenever any song of this movie comes on TV my mother get all emotional and says how my father was moved by the plight  of the heroine and walked out of the theatre without waiting for the movie to end . haha ! So much to go with a movie . I love movies because more or less they denote the time periods in our life .

Nice book.  have a read !

The beauty of silence …..

There was a time when I used to observe a young man in our group , just out of curiosity.

Because he was so different from everybody else in the group . Always had a smiling face and the most simple ways .

I always looked for his face first in the group and was bored when he didn't turn up.

Why ?

I don't know ...



Once then, we all went for a camp . But this young man didn't come for some unknown reasons .  His friends waited for him till the end .

When we came back he was there at the station to welcome us .

I wanted to tell him that we missed him. But thought it wouldn't be important .

He appeared to be very happy to see his friends . They decided to hang out for a while and I went home with my father and life moved on.

A few days later , he proposed to  my parents without  me knowing . I only come to know about this after every thing was decided.

While we had gone for the camp he had gone to talk to his parents ( :roll: from reliable sources )

Since then, for ten years now  that man has been surprising me , every day of my life .

My better half ,  My love.

Happy Wedding Anniversary !

[caption id="attachment_1979" align="aligncenter" width="372" caption="Springtime by Pierre-August Cot . One of my favourite paintings . Lovers caught in spring time forever ,and nothing else in this world matters. "][/caption]

Tooth fairy visits our house ..

It has been two days since Ruby has taken out one of his milk teeth . This time he wants a 5 Rs coin for his teeth and wonders if he will get even a 50ps for such a small teeth. It was one of his canines .

hmm... The tooth fairy will have to keep that in mind !

But he didn't keep it under his pillow. I thought he threw it away and has grown out of fairy tales.

Then, yesterday I heard him whispering to Pearl that he is going to keep the tooth tonight for the coin followed by a ' don't tell anybody '.

I concentrated hard on my stitching work and made mental notes.

As soon as Ruby went out of the room , Pearl came to me and shared the top secret followed by the ' don't tell anybody. '

After that without even a moments break , I heard her giggling and running to her father . Of course, top secret !! ( :shock: I am not going to include her in the secret arrangements for Ruby's b'day next month !   )

Now the Fairy is the only person who doesn't know about it .

In between , the whole thing slipped out of my mind . By midnight we had a power failure. Ruby got up and checked for his tooth but couldn't find it !!

ohoh!! The tooth fairy had other important things in her mind !

I asked him to go to sleep and not to check for the tooth in between . No foul plays ! :eek:

In the morning luckily tooth fairy remembered about the sweet tooth waiting under the pillow . But couldn't find any 5 re coin and settled for a 1re coin.

Ruby  got up , found the coin and came to the kitchen .

" What do you have there ? Did you get the 5 re. " I asked him

" No, It is a 1 re coin .  Mother, :roll: You get only 1 re coins. That is the rule , you know ?  Isn't it a wonder that it was not there when I checked in between ? The fairy needs the exact time to change the tooth into coin . After all she has to take the tooth to some place and make a coin out of it . May be she has a factory for this "

' hmm.. the fairy will give gifts only to kids who gets enough sleep . 8 hrs !! No more no less ! ' ( After all the 1 re coin was not wasted !)

Teaching a gifted child with LD ...

When I started surfing the net to learn how to guide my son through his school lessons , I stumbled on many sites on parenting and homeschooling dyslexic children. As I have very poor short term memory I gathered every thing I found useful and started to work from there .

First standard was a complete mess . I used negative strokes to reinforce his memory  . Because I always thought he was too lazy to do any thing .

Later I learned how easy it is to teach the child with postive strokes and consistency . Over the two years we have developed our own way of learning school stuff .

Before going further I want to tell you when I was a student myself I was not at all the day to day learning type. I relied mainly on the study holidays for my marks. But for my son I had to change every thing .

• Every day he is given enough time to play , to watch TV ,  to read books and unwind . The study time is kept the same every day . ( one - one and half hrs ) Every 20 or 30 minutes depending on his concentration , he can take a break  for 5 to 10 minutes.

• The key point is to start from day one and be consistent . That is the best and easiest thing to do . Child will also be relaxed and confident . ( The last thing you would want to do to a LD child is stuff him with new lessons on the  day before exam . He will surely black out. )

• I keep two rough note books at home . It helps me to save time and write questions  or check answers while Siva is doing his work  . That way I sit with him through his study time.

• I write every possible question down on the rough note book . We answer them once in detail . Then for every revision he goes through this note. Then we do model tests .

• I note down the spellings that are difficult for him on the side page and the clues we used to memorise it so that we can check it further just before the exams. As he is basically a pictorial thinker we rely on pictures a lot for reinforcing what has been studied.  If he has difficulty to remember notes we draw pictures in different colours on the side . Rather than artistic skills we concentrate on personal clues and jokes that will make it easier to remember .

• Once Ruby wrote one word answers to paragraph questions . That is one another trait of dyslexic kids. To the point answers with no explanations . So we make it sure that he knows how to answer the same questions for different marks. For essay writing we follow this technique of answering 'Wh' questions related to the topic and writing the answers in a para. Then giving an opening and closing sentence.

• Other than for very important ones we don't concentrate on spellings . The spelling lessons are given differently for a lesser level. ( he takes resource help from school )

• Basically we divide our every day study time into two. One half for learning the day's portion and doing home works if any . The second half for revising what was learned the previous day . Then 15 minutes for doing some extra work ( out of syllabus . like spelling lessons , cursive writing , puzzles, abacus . alternates it through the week )

• Saturday Morning - revise the week's portions and works for the next week.

• Saturday evening and Sunday - Free .

• We see to it that we are thorough with the given text book . Line to line . boxes and tables . Even the captions of pictures . ( important especially for CBSE ) . May sound silly . But I have seen that many students who are good in studies  score poor because they are not familiar with the text book.

By saying thorough I don't mean to mug it up.

This need not be done consciously. Let the child read the lesson completely including all the exercises everyday while it is being taken . ( first day it will take more time but lesser after wards )

• Then a quick glance after one or two weeks . Once a month . ( This is how our brain works . First revision with in 24 hours . Second revision with in 7 days . Subsequent revisions within 15 and 30 days resp.  With every revision the time taken and effort required will be less .

This is not the only thing we do . As he is very interested in reading I gather books based on his classes for extra reading . We surf net . He can follow anything he is interested in to the level he can take it. We do experiments at home . He is a keen observer .

Having said all these I want to tell you I am not one  of those Moms who always want their kid to come first . I have seen those types and I despise them . I don't have a competition with any of his classmates or anybody else. I have seen my child's paper written wholly in mirror writing , like in some alien language  with full of red question marks . When he goes for his exams I can only pray that his brain is correctly oriented for the day.

My aim is not to torture him with his lessons so that he would get good marks . My aim is to get him better of his disabilities . The only thing that I compete with is his future. I don't want my son to suffer for his disabilities . I want them to be properly taken care of so that he can be proud of his abilities . I want him to be confident , competent and educated enough to pursue his favourite career. Whatever that might be when time comes .

Fourth grade has just started . We will have to improvise our schedule as we move on . May Almighty God lead us through !